comScore, Inc. Proprietary.

About this report

The 2015 U.S. Mobile App Report leverages several data sources unique to comScore:
The report is based primarily on behavioral measurement from comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform, which provides
deduplicated reporting of digital audiences across desktop computers, smartphones and tablets, and comScore Mobile
Metrix, which provides deduplicated reporting of mobile web and app audiences across both smartphones and tablets. The
report also includes survey-based data from comScore MobiLens.
Custom analytics data derived from the aforementioned products data streams is also included.
The report also incorporates results from a survey of 1,084 smartphone users to understand their habits.
Important Definitions:
o Any reference to mobile means the combination of smartphone and tablet. When data is referring specifically smartphones
or tablets, it will be labeled accordingly.
o All mobile data is based on Age 18+ population.
o A unique visitor is a person who visits an app or digital media property at least once over the course of a month. This
metric, in app parlance, is equivalent to a monthly active user/MAU. A daily visitor is similar to a daily active user/DAU.
For more information about subscribing to comScore services, please contact us at www.comscore.com/learnmore.

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Table of Contents

App Overview

PAGE 4

App Audiences

PAGE 11

App User Habits

PAGE 18

Top & Fast-Growing Apps

PAGE 27

Content Categories

PAGE 36

Social & Entertainment Apps

PAGE 41

App Ads & Monetization

PAGE 51

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App Overview

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Digital media usage time is exploding right now, and its

predominantly being driven by mobile apps.
Growth in Digital Media Time Spent
Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform & Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience

Desktop

Mobile App

Mobile Browser

1,600,000

Total Minutes (MM)

1,400,000

118,299

1,200,000
1,000,000

vs. 2013

97,440
778,954

77,081

800,000
600,000

+53%

+90%
vs. 2013

621,410
409,847

400,000
200,000

476,553

480,967

550,522

Jun-2013

Jun-2014

Jun-2015

+16%
vs. 2013

Over the past two

years, total digital
media usage has
grown 49% with
mobile apps having
grown 90% and
contributing to 77%
of the total increase
in time spent.
Mobile browser is
also seeing very
strong growth at
53% and even
desktop is still
rising.

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Smartphone apps are eating up the digital universe and are now
close to being a majority of all digital media time.
Smartphone App Share of Platform Time Spent
Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform & Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience

90%

+3pts

Smartphone app share of MOBILE APP

82%

Smartphone App Share of Time Spent

80% 79%

71%

70%
66%

+5pts

Smartphone app share of MOBILE

60%
50%
44%

40%
+11pts

Smartphone app share of TOTAL DIGITAL

33%

30%
Jun-2013

Dec-2013

Jun-2014

Dec-2014

Smartphone apps
are rapidly
approaching half of
total digital media
time spent. They
already account for
the vast majority of
total mobile and
mobile app time
spent and are
gaining share
among every
segment of the
market.

Jun-2015
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Mobile now represents almost 2 out of 3 digital media minutes, and

mobile apps alone now constitute a majority.
Share of Digital Media Time Spent by Platform
Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform & Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience

65%
62%

% Share of Digital Media Time Spent

60%
+11pts

Share of Digital Time Spent on MOBILE

55%

54%
51%

50% 49%

+12pts

Share of Digital Time Spent on MOBILE APP

45%
42%

40%
38%

35%
30%
Jun-2013

-11pts

Dec-2013

Jun-2014

Share of Digital Time Spent on DESKTOP

Dec-2014

Although desktop is
not declining in total
engagement, it is
losing share to
mobile which now
accounts for 62% of
digital media time
spent. And mobile
apps on their own
now drive the
majority of digital
media time spent at
54%.

Jun-2015
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Smartphone apps have driven most of the growth in digital media

usage in the past 2 years.
Share of Growth in Total Digital Time Spent: June 2015 vs. June 2013
Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform & Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience

TABLET

DESKTOP
2%

15%

12%

7%
SHARE OF
GROWTH
IN DIGITAL
TIME
(JUNE 2015 vs.
JUNE 2013)

65%

SMARTPHONE

Every component is
contributing to the
massive growth in
digital time spent
over the past two
years, but it is the
smartphone app
that has been the
biggest driver by far.
It has accounted for
two-thirds of all
growth in digital
media engagement
during that
timeframe.

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App usage time is being driven heavily by Millennials on

smartphones, while older segments skew on tablet apps.
Average Monthly Hours per App Visitor by Age
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

Smartphone
100

Tablet

90.6

Average Monthly Hours per Visitor

82.5
80

73.1

68.2

57.5

60

40.7
40

34.7
29.6
23.5

26.6

30.8

39.8
34.0

32.5

20

Millennials spend an
exorbitant amount
of time on their
smartphone apps,
and usage declines
with age. Tablet app
engagement is
much lower on
average, but
generally increases
with age outside of
the 18-24 year-old
segment.

0
Total

Age 18-24

Age 25-34

Age 35-44

Age 45-54

Age 55-64

Age 65+
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Apps dominate mobile web in time spent. But these stats only tell
part of the story, especially when looking at driving audiences
Share of Time Spent on Mobile: App vs. Browser
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

App

Browser

100%
13%

12%

17%

87%

88%

83%

Mobile

Smartphone

Tablet

Share of Mobile Time Spent

80%

60%

40%

20%

The lower share of

app time spent on
tablets is likely due
to the devices
larger screen, which
makes for a better
web browsing
experience, and a
fewer number of
apps available for
tablets vs.
smartphones.

0%

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10

App Audiences

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11

Multi-platform digital audiences are getting much bigger on average,

and its all because of mobile.
Avg. Monthly Audience for Top 1000 Properties for Total Digital, Mobile, and Desktop
Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform, U.S., Total Audience

16
15.0

14

+22%
y/y

Unique Visitors (MM)

TOTAL DIGITAL

12

12.3

MOBILE

10

9.7

+41%
y/y

8
6.9

6.8

6.5

DESKTOP

+1%
y/y

Over the past year,

average digital
audience size has
grown 22% among
the top 1000
properties. Mobile
audiences have
grown 41% in that
time vs. a 1% gain
on desktop. Mobile
audiences first
passed desktop in
June 2014.

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12

And mobile audience growth is being driven more by mobile web

properties, which are actually bigger and growing faster than apps.
Average Monthly Audience: Top 1000 Mobile Apps vs. Top 1000 Mobile Web Properties
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

Apps

Mobile Web

+21%
y/y

10,000

+42%
y/y

9,000

Unique Visitors (000)

8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000

A comparison of the
Top 1000 Apps vs.
the Top 1000 Mobile
Web Properties
shows a surprising
result. Not only do
mobile web
properties have
audiences that are
more than 2.5x the
size, but these
audiences are also
growing twice as
fast.

Jun-2014

Sep-2014

Dec-2014

Mar-2015

Jun-2015
comScore, Inc. Proprietary.

13

But mobile web audiences also tend to be a mile wide and an inch
deep. As audiences increase, average time on mobile web declines.
Top 1000 Mobile Web Properties: Average Audience and Time Spent Trend
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

Mobile Web Unique Visitors (000)

Mobile Web Average Minutes per Visitor

10,000

14

9,000

12

Unique Visitors (000)

10

7,000
6,000

5,000
6

4,000
3,000

2,000
2

1,000
0

0
Jun-2014

Sep-2014

Dec-2014

Mar-2015

Average Minutes per Visitor

8,000

As average mobile
web audiences climb,
the depth of average
engagement has
steadily declined,
suggesting an
increase in drive-by
traffic. While this
traffic can help
establish larger
audience reach for
mobile media
properties, there may
also be limits to the
advertising
opportunity it creates.

Jun-2015
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14

Nevertheless, app audiences are growing. And the number of apps

reaching 5/10/20 million monthly visitors has jumped.
Number of Mobile Apps That Reached Unique Visitor Milestones
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

5-10 MM

10-20 MM

20 MM +

140
120

+29%

27

Number of Apps

100
80

21

60

23

+43%

33
+24%

There are a growing

number of mobile
apps reaching large
audiences in the
millions, proving
that apps should not
only be viewed in
terms of
engagement metrics
alone.

40
20

51

63

0
Jun-2014

Jun-2015
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15

But, its still much easier to build a large audience on the desktop
and mobile web because of more fluid linking of content.
Number of Web Properties vs. Mobile Apps That Reached Unique Visitor Milestones
Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform & Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience, June 2015

5-10 MM

10-20 MM

20 MM +

Number of Web Properties/Apps

500
450

400

93

350

300

71

122

250

200

84

150
100

218
159

50

27
33

63

Despite growing
audiences on apps,
the existing digital
infrastructure makes
it harder to build
large audiences on
apps than on the
web. As evidenced,
the mobile web still
has 3.5x more web
properties with 5
million unique
visitors than apps
have.

Desktop

Mobile Web

Mobile App
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16

Establishing app audiences is harder, but their real value is in their

loyalty. They spend 18x more time on apps than mobile web visitors.
Top 1000 Mobile Apps vs. Top 1000 Mobile Web Properties
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

Monthly Unique Visitors (MM)

Average Monthly Minutes per Visitor

8.9
201.8

3.3

10.9
App

Mobile Web

App

It may be more
challenging to build
a large audience on
apps, but those app
users are a very
loyal bunch. They
spend more than 3
hours per month on
the Top 1000 apps
on average about
18x greater than
what mobile web
visitors spend on
their Top 1000
properties.

Mobile Web
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17

App User Habits

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18

Smartphone users rely most on the app store for app discovery, and
more Millennials seek out apps across all methods of discovery.
Smartphone App Discovery Method as a % of Users
Source: comScore MobiLens, U.S., Age 13+, 3 Month Average Ending June 2015

Age 18-34

Age 35-54

Age 55+

30%
27%

% of Smartphone Users

25%
20%

20%

19%

18%

14%

15%
12%

13%
11%

11%

11%

10%

8%

9%

8%

7%
6%

5%

11%

10%
9%

6%

3%

7%
5%
3%

3%

0%
Searched app
store

via friend/ family

Featured/ Top
via comment/
List in app store review/ social site

via a website

via news/ print

review/ TV show

via Ad on device
browser/ app

via Ad on TV/
print/ billboard

Since Millennials
are heavier app
users, it makes
sense that they also
would be more
inclined to go out
and discover new
apps from a variety
of methods. This
age group is a great
target for app
advertising, and are
likely a big driver of
the growth in app
install ads.

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19

Smartphone home screen real estate is scarce, and frequency of

usage determines which apps get promoted to this screen.
Q: Which factors, if any, influence your decision to move any of your apps to your home screen?
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015

How often I use the app

46%

Easier access

44%

I often need to access the app quickly

32%

My interest in that app or kind of app

I like how the logo looks on my home screen

None/ I have not purposely moved apps to my home

screen

21%

11%

The desire to
access certain apps
easily and rapidly
are other key
drivers in
determining which
apps get placed on
the home screen.
Only 1 out of 5
smartphone users
made no effort to
customize which
apps appear on
their home screen.

21%

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20

3 in 4 smartphone users keep their most used app on the home

screen and fully in view, outside the confines of an app folder.
Q: Where is the mobile app you use most often located?
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015

1%
4%
6%

Home Screen - Individual App

Secondary Screen - Individual App
Menu of All Mobile Apps

8%

Home Screen - In Folder

Secondary Screen - In Folder

9%

Other

73%

Nearly 3 out of
every 4 smartphone
users prefer to keep
their most frequently
used app in the
location with the
least amount of
friction on their
phone one click
away on their home
screen. About 1 in
10 keep their most
used app outside a
folder on a
secondary screen.

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21

Half of all time spent on smartphone apps occurs on the individuals

single most used app. And its almost 60% on tablets.
Share of Time Spent on Apps Across Ranks
Source: comScore Custom Analytics, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

Smartphone

Tablet

70%

Share of Time Spent on Apps

60%
50%

59%
50%

40%
30%
18%19%

20%

10% 9%

10%

6% 5%

4% 3%

3% 2%

2% 1%

2% 1%

1% 0%

1% 0%

10

4%

1%

0%
1

11+

Nearly 4 out of 5
smartphone app
minutes are spent
on the individuals
Top 3 apps, despite
the average
smartphone user
visiting 25 apps per
month. Tablet users
are even more
engaged with their
top apps, with 87%
of their app usage
occurring on their
Top 3.

Individuals Top Ranked App by Usage

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22

Your Dads not the only one who operates his smartphone with two
hands its a generational thing.
% of Smartphone Users by Age Segment Who Only Operate Phone with Two Hands
Source: comScore Custom Analytics, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

40%
35%
34%

% of Smartphone Users

30%
25%
20%
19%
15%

15%

10%
9%
5%

Higher levels of
comfort and
familiarity with the
device, as well as a
greater tendency to
multi-task, are likely
why younger
generations are
more inclined to use
their smartphone
with only one hand
vs. their older
counterparts. Older
demos use their
phones like, well,
your parents do.

0%
Total Age 18+

Age 18-34

Age 35-54

Age 55+
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23

One-handed smartphone users consciously decide on where apps

are positioned on their phones based on thumb reach.
Q: Agree/Disagree: The ease with which Im able to reach an app with my thumb when
operating my phone affects where I have positioned that app on my smartphone?*
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015

Disagree

Age 55+

17%

Age 35-54

Age 18-34

13%

11%

0%

No Opinion

Agree

33%

51%

26%

61%

29%

20%

60%

40%

60%

80%

The majority of onehanded smartphone

users of all ages
consider thumb
reach when
positioning apps on
their phone. Those
age 55+ are
somewhat less
likely to practice this
behavior, but overall
it appears that
thumb reach is an
important
consideration
across all age
groups.

100%

* One-handed smartphone users who responded that they Strongly Agree or Somewhat Agree with the above statement were combined into a single group labeled Agree.
Similarly, the Disagree group of respondents consists of one-handed smartphone users who stated that they Strongly Disagree or Somewhat Disagree.

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24

Smartphone users are as likely to accept push notifications as

reject, indicating a need to balance utility with intrusiveness.
Q: How often do you agree to an apps request to allow push notifications?
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015

33%

31%

9%

22%

36%

22%

11%

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Always

Push notifications
can often be the
lifeblood of an app
a crucial method to
keep its users
actively engaged
and from
abandoning it over
time. But it can also
backfire, appear
intrusive and
ultimately annoy
users. Smartphone
users are split as to
whether they get
utility from this
feature.

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25

Smartphone users are more comfortable sharing location info than

receiving notifications. Privacy less of a concern than annoyance?
Q: Agree/Disagree: I am comfortable with apps accessing my geographic location information.
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015

42%

31%

12%

19%

28%

29%

13%

Strongly
Disagree

Somewhat
Disagree

Neither Agree
nor Disagree

Somewhat
Agree

Strongly
Agree

The same
percentage of
smartphone users
who typically reject
push notifications
also cite some
uneasiness in
sharing their
geographic location.
Still, with 4 in 10
users comfortable
enabling these
services, there likely
exists a greater
concern for app
intrusiveness than
app privacy.

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26

Top & Fast-Growing Apps

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27

The list of Top 25 mobile apps is dominated by the leading digital

media companies and tends to concentrate within a few categories.
Top 25 Mobile Apps by Unique Visitors with Y/Y Growth
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015 / June 2014

Social
Entertainment
Utilities
Retail

Facebook
YouTube
Facebook Messenger
Google Search
Google Play
Google Maps
Pandora Radio
Gmail
Instagram
Apple Music*
Apple Maps
Yahoo Stocks
Amazon Mobile
Twitter
Pinterest
The Weather Channel
Snapchat
Google+
Netflix
Weather Channel Widget
Google Drive
eBay
Spotify
Walmart
Yahoo Mail

125,727
98,929
95,670
81,090
77,387
76,471
74,221

67,902
63,060

9%
18%
144%
16%
7%

19%
8%
13%
35%

49,701

22%

49,349

17%

46,398
43,688

10%
65%

41,345

19%

40,847

66%

35,841
34,098

17%
29%

33,115

15%

32,778

18%

32,028
29,779

N/A
309%

24,957

12%

24,688

236%

22,019

402%

21,650

23%

The Top 6 and 8

of the Top 9 apps
are owned by
Facebook or
Google. The Top 25
apps can all be
broadly classified as
either Utilities (9),
Social (7),
Entertainment (6),
or Retail (3),
highlighting some of
the most critical
needs that apps
fulfill.

* Apple Music, as it appears above, is the same measured entity as the previously named iTunes Radio/iCloud. This entity, now under the new name, is referring to Apples
native music app, which captures all music activity within that app, including listening via the streaming service, radio service and users personally downloaded music libraries.

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28

Facebook ranks as the #1 smartphone app by total time spent for

almost half its user base an astounding number.
Facebooks Rank Among its Smartphone App Users
Source: comScore Custom Analytics, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

% of Facebook App Users

50%

48%

40%
30%
22%
20%
9%

10%

6%

4%

2%

2%

1%

1%

1%

10

4%

0%
1

11+

Facebook continues
its impressive reign
as the #1 app
overall in both users
and engagement,
and its in the Top 3
for nearly 80% of
users. With
constantly
refreshing social
content and home
screen accessibility
for most users, the
app is made for
habitual usage.

Rank in Usage

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29

Location, location, location. Apps occupying valuable home screen

real estate tend to have the most visitors.
Selected Smartphone Apps: Visitor Penetration vs. % Home Screen Incidence
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015; comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

% Reach of Smartphone App Users

80%

Facebook

70%

60%

FB Messenger

YouTube
Google Search

50%
Instagram

40%

Google Maps
Pandora

Apple Maps

30%

Snapchat
20%
10%

Shazam

Spotify

Yelp

ESPN

Amazon

Twitter

0%
0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Apps with easy

access and visibility
on the home screen
unsurprisingly
attract more visitors
than apps that
rarely obtain home
screen real estate.
Of course, apps that
are most often
selected for the
home screen tend
to generally be
more popular,
creating a chickenand-egg
phenomenon.

% of Home Screens on Which App Appears

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30

Habits can be powerful drivers of app usage, particularly when daily

behaviors are involved. Like getting your caffeine fix.
Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts App: Unique Visitor Trend
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

+100%

18,000

vs. 2013

16,000

Unique Visitors (000)

14,000
12,000
10,000

+456%
8,000

vs. 2013

6,000
4,000
2,000
0
Jun-2013

Dec-2013

Jun-2014

Dec-2014

Consumers are
reluctant to
download apps for
brands they buy, but
apps pertaining to
their daily habits
like buying coffee
have a place on
their mobile
devices. Starbucks
has been a leader in
mobile payments,
which has been a
key driver of app
adoption and usage,
and Dunkin has
followed suit.

Jun-2015
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31

Some leading retailers have experienced recent app success by

leveraging their customers routines of visiting their stores.
Select Retailer Apps: Unique Visitor Trend
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

30,000
+402% y/y

Unique Visitors (000)

25,000
20,000
+85% y/y
15,000
10,000
+259% y/y
5,000
0
Jun-2014

Dec-2014

Three leading
retailers apps have
surged recently by
leveraging in-store
coupons and
savings features to
propel usage. If an
app isnt likely to be
used frequently for
its mobile content
alone, it can
piggyback on offline
behaviors to help
drive more regular
engagement.

Jun-2015
comScore, Inc. Proprietary.

32

Tinder, whose 2x growth in the past year is dominated by Millennials

particularly college kids is transforming the dating landscape.
Audience & Share of Time
Spent Breakout by Demo

Tinder: Unique Visitor & Avg. Daily Visitor Trend

Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

7,000
6,000

+106% y/y

Unique Visitors (000)

Age 18-24

Age 25-34

Age 35-54

Age 55+

Average Daily Visitors (000)

4%
5,000

16%

2%
9%

29%

4,000
32%
3,000

+128% y/y

2,000
48%

60%

1,000
0
Jun-2014

Sep-2014

Dec-2014

Mar-2015

Jun-2015

% Composition
Unique Visitor

Share of Time
Spent

Tinders popularity
among Millennials is
impressive, as 4 out
of 5 users on the
dating app are 1834 years old, and
nearly half its users
are 18-24 years old.
This youngest 18-24
segment is also the
most engaged,
spending 3.5 hours
on the app per
month, accounting
for 60% of Tinders
total time spent.
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33

Fitness is another daily habit for many Americans, and several apps
have seen big growth with their personal health tracking features.
Fitness Apps on Smartphone: Unique Visitor Trend
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

% of App Audience
Visiting Daily

+922% y/y

10,000

Unique Visitors (000)

8,000
+60% y/y

6,000

43%
25%

4,000

+10% y/y
2,000

0
Jun-2014

Sep-2014

Dec-2014

Mar-2015

Jun-2015

15%

Fitness apps are

capitalizing on
emerging consumer
desires to track their
daily health habits.
Fitbit leads all with 9
million MAUs, of
which 43% are
DAUs. Sports
apparel retailer
Under Armour,
which acquired
MapMyFitness and
MyFitnessPal, is
clearly focused on
this category.
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Accessing on-demand services has also become habitual for many

people, and Uber & Lyft lead the way for on-demand transportation.
Ride Service Apps Unique Visitor Trend
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

9,000

Under-index

8,000

HH Size: 1

203
229

Unique Visitors (000)

7,000
6,000

+453% y/y

Over-index

Age 18-34

137
148

5,000

76

Age 35+

+187% y/y

68

4,000
3,000

2,000
1,000

Uber and Lyft have

exploded in
popularity over the
past year by
improving upon an
existing offline
behavior (i.e. hailing
a taxi) via the large
online networks that
theyve built. Both
apps benefit from
users who have a
higher tendency to
be a Millennial and
live in a singleperson household.

0
Jun-2014

Sep-2014

Dec-2014

Mar-2015

Jun-2015
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Content Categories

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Social media and entertainment account for the six top app
categories and drive two-thirds of total time spent on apps.
Share of Mobile App Time Spent
Source: comScore Media Metrix MP and Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience, June 2015

Social Networking
23%

Radio
29%

Games
Multimedia

3%
3%
4%

Instant Messengers
Music
Retail

6%

15%
6%
11%

News/Information
All Others

Social Networking,
Radio and Games
contribute more
than half of total
time spent on
mobile apps. The
strength of the top
categories
highlights that
mobile devices are
more heavily used
for entertainment
and communication
than their desktop
counterparts.

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Mobile usage lives and dies by the success of apps. Categories with
strong app usage are more likely to shift from desktop to mobile.
Selected Content Category Share of Time Spent on Mobile & Apps
Source: comScore Media Metrix MP and Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience, June 2015

Photos

100%
Mobile as a % of Digital Time

IM

Weather

90%

Maps

80%
Social Networking

70%

Sports

Search

60%
50% Entertainment News

Tech News

General News

Newspapers

Financial News

Humor

40%
30%

Games

Food

Portals
Beauty/Fashion

Politics

20%
10%
0%
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Categories with high

engagement on
apps as a
percentage of all
mobile activity also
tend to see mobile
as a higher
percentage of all
digital activity. It
appears that without
strong apps,
categories are not
navigating overall
transition to mobile
as effectively.

App as a % of Mobile Time

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Certain content categories usage is now driven almost exclusively

by apps, with Photos and Instant Messengers leading the way.
Mobile App Share of Total Digital Time Spent for Selected Content Categories
Source: comScore Media Metrix MP and Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience, June 2015

Photos

92%

Instant Messengers

91%

Maps

89%

Online Gaming

84%

Weather

78%

Social Networking

72%

Retail - Food

72%

Personals

59%

Finance - News/Research

49%

Retail

44%

News/Information

40%

Sports
Portals

29%
22%

Mobile Apps
dominate total time
spent for social and
communication
categories, and for
on-the-go utilities
like Maps and
Weather.
Categories like
News and Sports
are somewhat less
reliant on apps, both
because they skew
towards desktop
and have
substantial mobile
web usage.

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Younger smartphone users are significantly more likely to use

folders to organize their apps into categories.
% of Smartphone Users Who Use App Folders
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015

Age 18-34

53%

Top 5 Most Common

Categories of Folders on
Home Screen
1

Age 35-54

42%

2
3
4
5

Age 55+

Total Audience

24%

40%

Games
Email
Music
Calendars
Photos

The organization of
apps into folders is a
behavior more
commonly practiced
among younger
smartphone users.
Younger skewing
entertainment
categories, such as
Games and Music, as
well as apps serving
utility functions like
Email and Calendars
were most likely to
get grouped into a
folder.

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Social Media & Entertainment Apps

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The average mobile user spends a whopping 26 hours per month on

social apps. For Millennials, its 16% higher than the total audience.
Average Monthly Time Spent Per Mobile App User on Social & Entertainment Categories
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

Social

Entertainment

35

Average Monthly Hours Per Visitor

30
29.6

29.2

25

25.6

25.4

20

20.4
17.4

15

18.3

10
10.0

5
0

Age 18-34

Age 35-54

Age 55+

Total Audience

Millennials spend an
average of two
hours per day on
social and
entertainment apps.
Social apps have
become the primary
platform for users to
stay informed on
news, culture, and
their family and
friends lives. While
entertainment apps
come in handy
during those
pockets of free time
throughout the day.

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Facebook still wins the battle for the app attention of Millennials but
other social platforms also drive very high engagement.
Average Monthly Hours Spent Among 18-34 Year-Olds on Social Networking Mobile Apps
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

30

Average Monthly Hours Per Visitor

25

25.7

20
15
10
7.0

5.9

5.7
3.5

0
Facebook

Instagram

Snapchat

Tumblr

Millennials are
social media junkies
and have shown a
diverse appetite on
different social
networking apps.
While Instagram,
Snapchat, Tumblr
and Twitter all boast
both strong
penetration and
outsized
engagement stats,
they are still
dwarfed by
Facebook on both
dimensions.

Twitter
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Millennials app usage time is dominated by social, video, music and

communications.
Millennials Top Apps by Share of Total Mobile App Time Spent
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

Facebook
Pandora Radio
21.2%
YouTube
Instagram

41.5%

Spotify
14.3%

Facebook Messenger

Snapchat
5.6%

SoundCloud
Netflix

1.5%
1.5%

3.1% 3.2%

1.6%
2.6%

3.9%

Google Search

More than half of

Millennials app
engagement occurs
in their Top 6 apps,
and every single
app in their Top 10
is a social or
entertainment app,
with the exception
of the ever-present
Google Search.
YouTube, Instagram
and Snapchat are
all notable for
capturing relatively
bigger slices of the
Millennial pie.

All Other
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The vast majority of the apps skewing most heavily toward

Millennials are social in nature.
Top 20 Apps* with Highest Concentration of Millennials (Age 18-34)
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015
Yik Yak

98%

Venmo

94%

InstaSize

88%

BuzzFeed

81%

Tinder

79%

Snapchat

76%

MeetMe

73%

Mint.com Personal Finance

72%

SoundCloud

72%

Layout From Instagram

72%

Vine

71%

Poshmark

71%

TwitchTV

71%

PicsArt - Photo Studio

69%

iFunny

69%

Tumblr

69%

Dubsmash

67%

Spotify

67%

Kik Messenger

66%

Photo Grid HD

66%

*Based on apps with >1 MM users in that age group

The list of
Millennial-heavy
apps is very telling,
with the vast
majority being
related to social,
chat, and music.
Several social
personalization
apps also indicate
their affinity for
creative expression
and enhanced
communications.

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A strong majority of college kids use Snapchat every month, and the
popular app is picking up traction among older Millennials, too.
Snapchat Smartphone App Penetration by Age
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, April 2013 June 2015

70%

Age 18-24

60%

58%

% Reach

50%
40%
Age 25-34

30%
27%
24%

20%
Age 35+

10%

8%
5%
2%

0%
Apr-2013

Oct-2013

Apr-2014

Oct-2014

Nearly 3 in every 5
18-24 year-old now
uses Snapchat on
their smartphones
each month. Older
Millennials are
gaining ground fast
at 27% penetration,
while those age 35+
are still below 10%
penetration. Is
popularity among
Millennials a
predictor of eventual
mainstream
adoption?

Apr-2015
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Timehop has recently asserted itself as one of the fastest-growing

and most oft-used apps with a majority of users accessing daily.
Timehop: Smartphone App User Growth

Timehop: Cross-Visiting with Other Social Apps

Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

100%

12,000

98%

MONTHLY

+651% y/y

80%
71%

8,000

68%

6,000
40%
4,000
DAILY

+921% y/y

20%

2,000
0
Jun-2014

% Timehop smartphone
app users

60%

% all smartphone
users

Unique Visitors (000)

10,000

45%
37%
24%

0%
Sep-2014

Dec-2014

Mar-2015

Jun-2015

Facebook
(Mobile App)

Instagram
(Mobile App)

Twitter
(Mobile App)

Timehop, which
allows users to
explore what they
were doing on the
same date on social
media in previous
years, is one of the
years best growth
stories with a y/y
increase of 651%. It
boasts an especially
high DAU/MAU ratio
of 59% by latching
onto users daily
habit of engaging
with their favorite
social media sites.

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Facebooks unbundling of FB Messenger has helped drive massive

growth and kick-started the emergence of messaging in the U.S.
Facebook Messenger & WhatsApp Smartphone App Unique Visitor Trends
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2013 June 2015

90,000

FACEBOOK MESSENGER

+332% vs. 2013

WHATSAPP

+195% vs. 2013

Unique Visitors (000)

75,000
60,000
45,000
30,000

15,000
0
Jun-2013 Sep-2013 Dec-2013 Mar-2014

Jun-2014 Sep-2014 Dec-2014 Mar-2015

Messaging is a very
hot sector of apps,
but is much more
prevalent
internationally right
now. Facebook
Messenger has
seen huge growth
as it unbundled from
the flagship app,
while FBs other
messaging service
WhatsApp is also
on the rise. But this
market still feels
relatively early
stage in the U.S.

Jun-2015
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The YouTube mobile apps explosion in engagement on

smartphones and tablets highlights the rapid shift to mobile video.
YouTube: Average Hours Per Visitor by Device

YouTube: Audience Penetration by Device

Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+

Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2015

Total Mobile

Smartphone

Tablet
60%

+90% y/y

10

4
+34% y/y

20%
19%
10%

0%
Sep-2014

Dec-2014

Mar-2015

Jun-2015

52%

30%

Jun-2014

56%

40%

+46% y/y
% Reach

Average Hours per Visitor

50%

Total Mobile Smartphone

The YouTube app

has seen a huge
surge of
engagement on
smartphones and
tablets in the past
12 months. While
penetration is lower
on tablets, those
who watch YouTube
on the devices
spend an inordinate
amount of time
nearly 9 hours per
month, almost 2x
vs. year ago.

Tablet
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Podcasting looks poised for lift-off as more than 4 in 10 Millennials

now listen on smartphone apps at least once a month.
Q: How often do you listen to podcasts using your smartphone?
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, August 2015

Daily

At least once a week

At least once a month

41%
45%

% of Smartphone Users

40%
35%

33%

29%
15%

30%
25%

12%

11%

20%

16%

15%
10%
5%

16%

14%

12%
6%

10%

6%

0%
Total Age 18+

Age 18-34

Age 35-54

7%
6%
2%
Age 55+

While podcasting
has been around for
more than a
decade, it seems to
have finally found a
market. The
popularity of new
content combined
with the power of
the smartphone app
has helped it gain
traction from a
growing number of
users, particularly
Millennials.

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App Ads & Monetization

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Mobile ads not only work, but they work much better than desktop
ads on average particularly at the bottom of the funnel.
Percentage Point Lift in Brand Metrics for Desktop and Mobile Ads
Source: comScore BSL and mBSL Benchmarks, U.S., 2014

Desktop

1.2

Mobile

Aided awareness

2.5

1.4

Favorability

1.4

Likelihood to recommend

4.3

Purchase Intent

4.3

1.3

3.0

Mobile ads caused

point lifts 2-3x
greater than ads on
desktop across four
key brand metrics
and performed
strongest in bottomfunnel metrics, such
as intent to buy and
likelihood to
recommend. Less
ad clutter and
proximity to point of
purchase may be
driving better
effectiveness for
mobile ads.

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Mobile native in-app video ads can be very effective, especially

when adapting ad creative for short-form viewing.
Brand Lift of Native Mobile Video
Source: Aggregate of four top-performing brands that used all four of below best practices

Control

Test

Indicates outperformance of
comScore mobile norms

49%

+18%
pts
+11%
pts

47%

+12%
pts

+15%
pts

56%

57%

+11%
pts

70%
52%

44%

42%

52%
41%

25%
14%

Aided Awareness Mobile Ad Recall

Ad Uniqueness

Favorability

Likelihood to Rec. Purchase Intent

For publishers
looking for ways to
better monetize
their mobile traffic,
native mobile video
is a promising
option. But its also
important to help
guide advertisers
towards creative
best practices to
drive the success of
their campaigns.

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Summary & Key Findings

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Key Takeaways
1

Mobile app usage is exploding as it becomes the #1 means of digital media

consumption. But its not coming at the expense of desktop or mobile web.
Confluence of factors is driving the huge uptick in app usage time, and apps are
overtaking other media in importance. However, its also important to recognize the
others havent gone away and the opportunity lies in multi-platform engagement.

App usage is a reflexive, habitual behavior where those occupying the best
home screen real estate are used most frequently.
Publishers must place more value on this real estate if they dont want to lose out in
the transition to mobile. A small slice of app users can contribute a lot of usage.

Publishers must look to Millennials app habits to win in mobile long-term.

Millennials are the heaviest app users and they spend a lot of time on social media
and other platforms. Publishers must have a well-developed platform strategy to get
mobile traffic and find ways to convert app users.
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Survey Research by

Adam Lella, Senior Marketing Insights Analyst, alella@comscore.com

Kelly Pedotto

Andrew Lipsman, VP Marketing & Insights, alipsman@comscore.com

Ben Martin, Director Global Marketing Insights, bmartin@comscore.com

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